Self-aligned bipolar transistor structure

ABSTRACT

A bipolar transistor structure comprises a semiconductor substrate having a first conductivity type, a collector region having a second conductivity type that is opposite the first conductivity type formed in a substrate active device region defined by isolation dielectric material formed in an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate, a base region that includes an intrinsic base region having the first conductivity type formed over the collector region and an extrinsic base region having the second conductivity type formed over the isolation dielectric material, and a sloped in-situ doped emitter plug having the second conductivity type formed on the intrinsic base region.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of co-pending and commonly-assigned application Ser. No. 11/607,265, filed on Dec. 1, 2006, by El-Diwany et al. and which is the subject of a Notice of Allowance mailed on Nov. 12, 2009. Application Ser. No. 11/607,265 is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to semiconductor integrated circuits and, in particular, to a self-aligned bipolar transistor structure using selective growth of a doped monocrystalline/polycrystalline emitter in an oxide window.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,884 (“the '884 patent”), which issued on Dec. 27, 2005, discloses techniques for fabricating bipolar transistor structures. FIG. 1 shows a partial bipolar transistor structure 100 disclosed in the '884 patent. The FIG. 1 partial bipolar transistor structure 100 includes a silicon-containing substrate 102 having isolation regions 104, e.g. trench isolation or field oxide isolation, formed therein. The substrate 102 also includes a collector region 108 and a collector contact region 106. A patterned protective material, such as oxide or nitride or oxynitride, is formed on top of selected portions of the device area. The structure 100 also includes a base region that comprises intrinsic base portion 112 and surrounding extrinsic base layer 114. The intrinsic base 112 comprises silicon (Si) or germanium (Ge) or a combination of silicon and germanium. The intrinsic base 112 is typically monocrystalline, while the extrinsic base 114 is typically polycrystalline silicon or SiGe. An emitter opening 118 is formed within a dielectric (e.g. oxide) layer 116 and raised extrinsic base 114. Within the emitter opening 118 is an oxide layer 120 and annular insulating spacer 122. The insulating spacer 122 is typically referred to as an “inside” spacer because it is formed within the opening 118 in the dielectric layer 116. The inside spacer 122 is a dielectric such as oxide or nitride. As shown in FIG. 1, the dielectric layer 116 and the underlying extrinsic base layer 114 form a raised extrinsic base/dielectric stack.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inside spacer 122 is utilized to define the final dimension of the emitter of the bipolar transistor structure and to provide lateral emitter-base isolation. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that, as device sizes become smaller (e.g., 0.18 μm processes), thus reducing the size of the emitter window, the ability to utilize inside spacers to define the emitter dimension and to obtain adequate emitter-base isolation becomes increasingly problematic.

There is an increasing desirability in the electronics industry, particularly with respect to handheld, wireless devices, for the use of integrated circuits that combine the high speed, high gain advantages of bipolar transistor technology with the simple, low power logic associated with CMOS technology. While circuit designers recognize the advantages of this so-called “BiCMOS” technology, the very high level of integration that can be achieved with CMOS technology still cannot be realized with BiCMOS technology. Thus, it is highly desirable to reduce the size of bipolar devices.

Circuit designers are relying on self-aligned bipolar architectures to achieve the narrower emitters and more critical extrinsic/intrinsic base alignments necessary for reduced bipolar device size. Many of these bipolar architectures achieve self-alignment through the use of sacrificial emitters.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,853 (“the '853 patent”), which issued on Mar. 22, 2005, discloses techniques for fabricating a bipolar transistor structure using a sacrificial emitter.

FIGS. 2A-2E show a sequence of steps for fabricating a bipolar structure using the sacrificial emitter techniques of the '853 patent. As shown in FIG. 2A, isolation structures 202, such as shallow trench isolation (STI) silicon dioxide, are formed in an amorphous silicon layer 201. A polycrystalline silicon-germanium layer 204 and a silicon or silicon-germanium layer 203 are formed on isolation structures 202 and silicon layer 201, respectively, by epitaxial growth. The portion of the layer 203 that will be under a subsequently formed emitter is referred to as an “intrinsic base region”, while the remainder of the layer 203 and the poly-SiGe layer 204 as “extrinsic base regions.” As shown in FIG. 2B, an oxide layer 213, e.g. silicon dioxide, is then formed and a polycrystalline silicon layer 211 is formed over the oxide layer 213. Polycrystalline silicon layer 211 serves as the sacrificial emitter material, and therefore does not require an implantation step or an activation step. As further shown in FIG. 2B, a photoresist (PR) sacrificial emitter mask 241 is patterned on the polysilicon layer 211 for use in defining the sacrificial emitter. As shown in FIG. 2C, the patterned photoresist mask 241 is then used to etch the polysilicon layer 211 to form the sacrificial emitter 211′. Spacers 212, e.g. silicon nitride, are then formed on the outside sidewalls of the sacrificial emitter 211′, as shown in FIG. 2D. Portions of the oxide layer 213 that are not under the sacrificial emitter 211′ and the sidewall spacers 212 are then removed and an extrinsic base implant step is performed, as shown in FIG. 2E. As can be appreciated by reference to FIG. 2E, the extrinsic base implant step is self-aligned with respect to the spacers 212. As shown in FIG. 2F, a layer of conformal oxide 221 is then formed over the FIG. 2E structure and etched back to expose the polysilicon sacrificial emitter 211′. The sacrificial emitter 211′ is then removed, as shown in FIG. 2G, using a poly-etch process that is selective to the sidewall spacers 212 and to oxide layers 221 and 213. A portion of the oxide layer 213 is then removed to expose a portion of layer 203. A layer of emitter material, e.g. polysilicon, is then formed, doped, activated and etched to form polysilicon emitter 231 of the bipolar transistor structure, as shown in FIG. 2H.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a sacrificial emitter process of the type described above involves the deposition and etch back of multiple layers of polysilicon and dielectrics. This inevitably results in some residues being left behind in each such operation, potentially resulting in operational degredation and, thus, yield loss. Furthermore, as the critical dimensions in these bipolar devices decrease, the tradeoffs in the lightly doped extrinsic base implant and the need to minimize extrinsic base to collector capacitance become more problematic.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,026,666 (“the '666 patent”), which issued on Apr. 11, 2006, shows another self-aligned technique for fabricating a bipolar transistor structure.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the technique disclosed in the '666 patent includes the formation of a structure that comprises a p-type silicon substrate 302 having an n-type collector region 304 and a p-type Si, SiGe or SiGe:C epitaxial layer 306. The epitaxial layer 306 is deposited over the surface of the substrate 302 such that a mono crystalline portion 308 of the epitaxial layer 306 is deposited over a mono crystalline portion 310 of the substrate 302 and a poly crystalline portion 312 of the epitaxial layer 306 is deposited over isolation oxide 314. An ONO stack 316 comprising thin silicon dioxide layer 318, silicon nitride layer 320 and top silicon dioxide layer 322, is formed on the substrate 302.

Referring to FIG. 3B, an emitter mask layer (not shown) is then formed over the top oxide layer 322 and utilized to selectively etch the top oxide layer 322 and the nitride layer 320 to form an emitter window 324; the thin oxide layer 318 is left in place as an etch stop. A self-aligned collector implant is then performed through the emitter window 324. The thin oxide layer 318 is then etched to expose a portion of the epi portion 308 and a layer of polysilicon 328 is formed over the structure. The polysilicon layer 328 may be in-situ doped with n-type dopant while deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). A polysilicon emitter 330 is then formed by etching back the polysilicon layer 328 such that the top surface of the poly emitter 330 is coplanar with the top surface of the top oxide layer 322, as shown in FIG. 3C. The poly emitter 330 is then exposed by selectively removing the top oxide layer 322, resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 3D.

Referring to FIG. 3E, nitride spacers 132 are then formed on the exposed sidewalls of the poly emitter 330 by depositing a layer 324 of silicon nitride and anisotropically etching the nitride layer 324. As shown in FIG. 3F, the thin oxide layer 318 is then removed and a heavily doped epitaxial layer 340 is selectively deposited over the base epitaxial region 306 and over the poly emitter 330. Referring to FIG. 3G, the thickness of the nitride spacer 332 is then increased forming and etching nitride layer 350 to provide thicker spacers 350, thereby increasing the width of the emitter region 342 in order to prevent the emitter silicide layer from shorting with the base silicide and in order to prevent the emitter contact etch from exposing the base region 344.

FIG. 3H shows the formation of a silicide layer 354 at the surface of the raised extrinsic base region 344 and at the top surface of the emitter region 342. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the emitter structure is completed by forming an emitter contact to the silicided upper surface 354 of the emitter region 342.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a bipolar transistor structure comprising a semiconductor substrate having a first conductivity type, a collector region having a second conductivity type that is opposite the first conductivity type formed in a substrate active device region defined by isolation dielectric material formed in an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate, a base region that includes an intrinsic base region having the first conductivity type formed over the collector region and an extrinsic base region having the second conductivity type formed over the isolation dielectric material, and a sloped in-situ doped emitter plug having the second conductivity type formed on the intrinsic base region.

The features and advantages of the various aspects of the present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings, which set forth illustrative embodiments in which the concepts of the invention are utilized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross section drawing illustrating a prior art partial bipolar transistor structure that utilizes inside spacers to define the emitter dimension of the transistor structure.

FIGS. 2A-2H are cross section drawings illustrating a prior art sequence of steps for fabricating a self-aligned bipolar transistor structure utilizing a sacrificial emitter.

FIGS. 3A-3H are cross section drawings illustrating another prior art sequence of steps for fabricating a self-aligned bipolar transistor structure.

FIGS. 4A-4H are cross sectional drawings illustrating a sequence of steps for fabricating a self-aligned bipolar transistor structure in accordance with the concepts of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A-5I are cross section drawings illustrating an alternate sequence of steps for fabricating a self-aligned bipolar transistor structure in accordance with the concepts of the present invention.

FIGS. 6A-6I are cross section drawings illustrating a second alternate sequence of steps for fabricating a self-aligned bipolar transistor structure in accordance with the concepts of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention departs significantly from the concept of utilizing a sacrificial emitter to achieve self-alignment in a bipolar transistor structure. A bipolar device architecture in accordance with the concepts of the present invention utilizes a selective or a non-selective in-situ doped emitter to achieve self-alignment, thereby completely eliminating all complexities associated with the sacrificial emitter techniques.

A process flow for fabricating an NPN bipolar transistor structure in accordance with the concepts of the present invention is described below in conjunction with FIGS. 4A-4H.

FIG. 4A shows isolation regions 402, e.g. shallow trench isolation (STI) silicon dioxide, formed in amorphous semiconductor material 404, e.g. silicon. Base epitaxial material 406, which may be, for example, Si, SiGe or SiGe—C, is formed on the semiconductor material 404 and base polysilicon 408 is formed on the isolation regions 402. A thin layer of silicon oxide 410 approximately 20 nm thick is formed over the base poly 408 and the base SiGe—C material 406. A thin layer of silicon nitride 412, also approximately 20 nm thick, is formed on the thin oxide layer 410. A top oxide layer 414 approximately 250-500 nm thick is formed on the nitride layer 412, resulting in an oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) dielectric layer. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing structure can be fabricated utilizing process techniques well known in the semiconductor industry.

Referring to FIG. 4B, a sloped etch of the ONO layer is then performed to expose a portion of the upper surface of the base epi layer 406. The sloped emitter (ONO) etch allows a minimum emitter width that is well below lithographic capabilities. The amount of slope in the etch is not critical and is set only by the limits of the lithography. In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4B, the lithographic etch window at the top of the oxide layer 414 can be as wide as 180 nm. The sloped etch can result in exposure of an emitter opening on the surface of the base epi material 406 that is as narrow as 100 nm wide. The thickness of the nitride needs to be sufficient to support the sloped overetch of the top oxide layer 414.

As further shown in FIG. 4B, in accordance with the invention, an in-situ doped monosilicon/polysilicon (“mono/poly”) emitter 416 is then formed in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process performed using an epi reactor, either through selective or non-selective silicon deposition. This is followed by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and/or an etch back step. The transition depth in the emitter 416 from monosilicon to polysilicon is selective based upon desired device characteristics. The thickness (or recess) of poly emitter 416 is also adjustable as a trade-off between emitter resistance and other NPN device characteristics.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, a sacrificial oxide etch is performed to remove the top oxide layer 414. An anisotropic etch of the oxide layer 414 can produce sidewall oxide wedges 418. These wedges, while typically not problematic, can be removed by a wet etch or through the use of an isotropic etch. Alternatively, as discussed in detail below, the oxide wedges 418 can serve as spacers to provide the extrinsic base implant offset.

The next step in the process flow is the extrinsic base implant. Referring to FIGS. 4D-4F, in a first approach, the extrinsic base implant is divided into two steps: a first lightly doped extrinsic base (LDEB) implant that is offset from the emitter 416 using narrow nitride spacers and a second extrinsic base (EB) implant that uses a heavier dose and higher energy and is offset from the emitter 416 using wider nitride spacers than those used in the LDEB implant. As shown in FIG. 4D, the “narrow” nitride spacers 420 are formed by forming and etching back a layer of silicon nitride. The LDEB implant is then performed, with no mask and using the nitride spacers 420 in a self-aligned implant, typically boron at 1E13/cm2 to 2E14/cm2. Next, as shown in FIG. 4E, another nitride layer is formed and etched back to provide the “wide” nitride spacers 420 a. The EB implant is then performed, again with no mask and self-aligned to the wide nitride spacers 420 a, typically boron at 1E14/cm2 to 2E15/cm2. The wide spacers 420 a also serve as a contact etch stop (self-aligned contacts) for very narrow emitters. A thin layer (10-50 nm) of heavily P+ doped material on the top of the emitter 416 (resulting from the LDEB and EB implants) is then removed through a simple silicon etch prior to emitter rapid thermal anneal (RTA), providing the emitter structure 416 a shown in FIG. 4F. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the amount of silicon etch, or final thickness of emitter 416 a, is a trade-off between reducing the emitter resistance and other NPN characteristics. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the thickness of the bottom oxide layer 410 needs to support the nitride spacer overetch and the breakthrough oxide etch to remove the P+ implanted poly from the top of the emitter 416. The base is then defined using a conventional pattern and etch sequence to arrive at the structure shown in FIG. 4F. The remaining bottom oxide 410 a is then removed and conventional techniques well known in the art are used to form salicide 422 on the extrinsic base regions 408 a and on the emitter 416 a, as shown in FIG. 4G.

As shown in FIG. 4H, a thick oxide layer 430 is then formed and a via opening created for the formation of a tungsten plug 432 as the electrical contact to the salicided emitter 422/416 a. As shown in FIG. 4H, the size of the tungsten plug 432 may overlap the emitter width to some extent.

FIGS. 5A-5I show a sequence of steps for fabricating a self-aligned bipolar transistor structure in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 5A, this alternate fabrication method begins with the same steps as the method described above in conjunction with FIGS. 4A and 4B. That is, isolation regions 502 (e.g. STI) are formed in semiconductor material 504. Base epitaxial material 506 is formed on the semiconductor material 504 and base poly 508 is formed on isolation regions 502. An ONO stack that includes thin oxide layer 510, nitride layer 512 and thick, top oxide layer 514 is the formed and a sloped etch step is performed to open a sloped emitter window 515 in the ONO stack to expose a surface region of the epi material 506. An in-situ doped monocrsytalline/polycrystalline emitter plug 516 is then formed in the emitter window 515. In accordance with this alternate embodiment of the invention, a silicon nitride layer 518 is then formed over the structure that results from the foregoing steps, resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 5A.

A standard etch back or chemical mechanical polishing step is then performed to remove nitride from the top surface of the thick oxide 514, leaving a nitride plug 518 a in the emitter window 515 on top of the mono/poly emitter plug 516. As discussed further below, the nitride plug 518 a must be thick enough to withstand the subsequent formation of a first set of nitride spacers and yet thin enough to be removed during the formation of a second set of nitride spacers.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the thick oxide layer 514 is etched back stopping on the nitride layer 512. As in the embodiment discussed above, removal of the top oxide layer 512 may result in oxide wedges 514 a remaining on the sidewalls of the emitter plug 516, which may be allowed to remain or be removed by etching.

As shown in FIG. 5D, the mono/poly emitter 516 is then encapsulated in silicon nitride by forming a layer of nitride over the FIG. 5C structure and etching it back to form narrow (50-100 nm) spacers 520 on the sidewalls of the emitter plug 516 while at least a portion of the nitride plug 518 a remains on top of the emitter plug 516; nitride layer 512 is removed from thin oxide 510 in the etch back step.

Referring to FIG. 5E, exposed portions of the thin oxide layer 510 are then removed by conventional techniques. An in-situ P+ doped raised extrinsic base is then formed over the poly base region 508 and exposed portions of the epi base region 506. As shown in FIG. 5E, the formation of the raised extrinsic base material results in monocrystalline silicon 522 being formed on exposed portions of the epi base 506 and P+ doped polysilicon 524 being formed on the poly base regions 508. P+ dopant from the raised extrinsic base poly regions 524 is then driven into the underlying epi base regions 506 in a rapid thermal anneal (RTA) step).

Next, a silicon nitride layer is formed over the FIG. 5E structure and etched back to form “wide” (<100 nm) nitride spacers 526 and to remove the remainder of the nitride plug 518 a from the top of the emitter plug 516.

The extrinsic base layers 508 and 524 are then patterned and etched to form extrinsic base regions 508 a and 524 a, a shown in FIG. 5G. Silicide layers 528 are then formed on the surface of the extrinsic base regions 508/524 a and on the top of the emitter plug 516 in the conventional manner, as shown in FIG. 5H. Finally, a layer of dielectric material 530 (e.g., silicon dioxide, is formed and patterned to allow formation of a conductive plug contact 532 (e.g., tungsten) to the top surface of the emitter plug 516. FIG. 5I shows an overlapping emitter contact plug 532.

FIGS. 6A-6I show a sequence of steps for fabricating a self-aligned bipolar transistor structure in accordance with another alternate embodiment of the present invention. A standard process with a non-selectively grown SiGe base is used to illustrate this embodiment of the invention.

This alternate process flow begins in the same manner as the flow described above in conjunction with FIGS. 4A-4H. That is, collector and base active regions are defined, with the SiGe base region being deposited using non-selective epitaxy. Next, as shown in FIG. 6A, isolation regions 602 are formed in a semiconductor substrate 604. Base SiGe:C epitaxial layer 606 is formed on the substrate 604 and base polysilicon 608 is formed on isolation regions 602. An ONO stack that includes a thin oxide layer 610 (20-30 nm), a silicon nitride layer 612 (20-30 nm) and a thick top oxide layer 614 (0.4-0.5 μm) is deposited over the base poly 608 and the SiGe:C material 606.

Referring to FIG. 6B, a sloped emitter window is then defined and filled with mono/poly silicon 616 with an appropriate doping level and thickness, as discussed above. As discussed above, the transition from mono to poly in the emitter 616 is adjustable. This is followed by the formation of a poly SiGe plug 617 with a Ge mole fraction between about 20-40%, and with a sufficient thickness to act as a protective layer, typically 5-50 nm and preferably about 15 nm thick.

As shown in FIG. 6C, the top oxide layer 614 is then etched back, stopping on the nitride layer 612 and using the emitter structure 616/617 as a hard mask. As shown in FIG. 6C, and as discussed above, some of the top oxide 614 may remain on the sidewalls of the emitter structure after the etch back and become part of the sidewall nitride spacers, or it can be removed prior to nitride spacer formation.

Referring to FIG. 6D, a silicon nitride layer approximately 0.1-0.2 μm thick is then deposited and etched back to form sidewall spacers 620. A nitride overetch removes the exposed portions of the thin nitride layer 612. Next, as shown in FIG. 6E, the thin oxide layer 610 is dipped off and an in-situ doped polysilicon layer 622, with high dopant concentration of the conductivity type opposite that of the emitter 616, is selectively grown. As further shown in FIG. 6E, the in-situ doped poly step results in the formation of monocrystalline (mono) silicon on the exposed portions of the monocrystalline epi 606 and in the formation of polycrystalline silicon on the exposed portions of the polycrystalline epi 608. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the in-situ doped poly 622 acts as a diffusion source for the extrinsic base region 608; it remains on top of the sacrificial SiGe layer 617 on the emitter 616.

FIG. 6F shows extrinsic base definition and etch in the conventional manner. Next, as shown in FIG. 6G, the nitride spacer is partially recessed and the residual oxide spacer is wet etched to expose the perimeter of the Ge-rich layer 617 on top of the emitter 616. A selective wet or dry etch step is then performed to remove the sacrificial Ge-rich layer 617, resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 6H. The top-most layer of poly 622 is then lifted off of the doped epi regions 608; due to the high selectivity of the lift-off, other silicon and polysilicon layers are not affected. An anneal then drives dopant from the doped emitter 616 into the monocrystalline epi layer 606, base and emitter silicide 624 are formed, and conductive emitter contact plug, e.g. tungsten 626, is formed, all in the conventional manner, resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 6I. Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the emitter contact 626 can be of the overlapping type shown in FIGS. 4H and 5I and discussed above.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing techniques provide a number of advantages over prior art self-aligned processes for BiCMOS devices. In addition to the elimination of all sacrificial polysilicon layers, the mask, chemical deposition and etching steps associated with a polysilicon emitter layer are also eliminated by use of the emitter plug. The extrinsic base implant no longer requires a mask. Unlike, prior art self-aligned processes, the ONO stack is formed on top of the base polysilicon; this provides more latitude in etching an residues associated with the ONO layers. Like prior self-aligned processes, an emitter width that is below lithographic capabilities is achieved through the use of the sloped emitter window etch, which also means that the emitter width doe not have to be fixed (i.e., subject to lithographic constraints). Reduced emitter fringe capacitance also enhances RF performance, particularly for low power applications.

It should be recognized that a number of variations of the above-disclosed embodiments of the invention will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be limited by those specific embodiments shown and described herein. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be defined by the following claims and their equivalents. 

1. A bipolar transistor structure comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a first conductivity type; a collector region having a second conductivity type that is opposite the first conductivity type formed in a substrate active device region defined by isolation dielectric material formed in an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate; a base region that includes an intrinsic base region having the first conductivity type formed over the collector region and an extrinsic base region having the second conductivity type formed over the isolation dielectric material; and a sloped in-situ doped emitter plug having the second conductivity type formed on the intrinsic base region.
 2. The bipolar transistor structure of 1, wherein the in-situ doped emitter plug comprises a lower monocrystalline silicon portion formed on the intrinsic base region and an upper polycrystalline silicon portion formed on the lower monocrystalline silicon portion.
 3. The bipolar transistor structure of claim 1, and wherein the intrinsic base region and the extrinsic base region are formed from material selected from the group consisting of Si, SiGe, SiGe—C and combinations thereof.
 4. The bipolar transistor structure of claim 1, and wherein the in-situ doped emitter plug has an upper surface that is about 180 nm or less wide and a lower surface that is about 100-180 nm wide. 